14/09/2008

Have we entered the era of neutral venues?

Last nights bomb blast in Delhi that claimed 20 lives and maimed many others may be the last straw on the camel’s back as far touring the sub-continent is concerned.

It is a well-known fact that barring their neighbors, to other cricketing nations a tour to Pakistan and Sri Lanka is fraught with risks and better avoided.

India, though it too has its share of bomb blasts has until now avoided that stigma. Nonetheless, with just 10 days to go before the arrival of the Australian’s, yesterday’s tragedy may well change all that.

What if there are god forbid, other bomb blasts? Will the Australian players still tour? Both the CA and the BCCI must be spending sleepless nights in search of the answer.

As they are lucrative, an Indian –Australian series may never suffer the ignominy of a Champions Trophy. However, the cricket administrators may decide to stage it at neutral venues such as Dubai or even Canada to eliminate the risk of abandonment in the future. The large Indian expatriate population will definitely fill the ground and the captive TV audiences in India are sure to its financial viability.